The Briny Lemon: Grilled Chicken Thighs with Singapore-Style Sauce

This chicken is on fire! And I don’t mean on the grill. The Singapore-style sauce is sweet, vinegary, and oh so hot. I went full-out with five serrano chiles, but the balance of flavors from the sugar, vinegar, lime juice, and ginger tames the heat to a delicious level.

That said, this is a spicy sauce. If you want less heat, use only a couple chiles and remove the seeds.

Serves 3

Ingredients

4-5 small red or orange serrano chiles (or other hot chiles), coarsely chopped (seeded for less heat)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
sea salt
2 tbsp water
olive oil, for brushing
6 bone-in chicken thighs (about 2-1/4 lbs total), skin removed
freshly ground black pepper

Sauce Ingredients

Chopped Ingredients

Preparation

Combine the chiles, garlic, chicken broth, vinegar, sugar, lime juice, ginger, and salt in a saucepan. Cover and warm gently over low heat 20 minutes.
Transfer the chile mixture to a small food processor and process until smooth (be careful when processing hot foods). Add the water and continue processing to a thin consistency. (The sauce should be fairly runny, not thick like tomato-based barbecue sauce.)
Transfer to a bowl and cover. Let stand 1 hour. (Or place in a sealable container and refrigerate 2-3 days. Re-warm gently before using.)

Sauce Beginning to Cook

Transfer to a Food Processor

After 1st Processing

Singapore-Style Sauce

Light a grill for direct-heat grilling with indirect-heat space.
Brush the chicken with oil and season with salt and pepper. Brush the grill grate with oil.
Grill the chicken over direct heat, turning 1-2 times, until beginning to char, about 3 minutes total. Move the thighs to the indirect-heat space.
Cover the grill and cook the chicken, turning a few times until golden brown and cooked through, moving on-heat as desired, 16-18 minutes total, depending on size.
About 3 minutes before the chicken is done, brush the thighs with the sauce.